1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains in general to social networking websites, and more specifically to determining the appropriateness of communication in a social network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Social networking services have opened up many new avenues to building social networks by allowing users to share information online and connect with a wide range of different users. Social networking services, such as FACEBOOK®, MYSPACE®, and LINKEDIN®, maintain profiles created by users of the service. A user's profile allows other users of the service to learn about the user. A user's profile includes, for example, information about the user, pictures posted by the user, a listing of the user's friends, and comments posted by the user and the user's friends. The amount and types of information that can be shared in these social networking services is vast.
Social networking services allow users to communicate with other users about any topic. Social networking services do not validate the appropriateness of the content included in communications between users. Some users take advantage of this lack of validation to plan events or activities that are illegal or not allowed by a supervisor (e.g., a parent). For example, an underage teenager can use the social networking service to plan a party with alcohol.
Further, malicious entities take advantage of the lack of validation by using the social networking services to obtain personal information from users. For example, a malicious entity can deceive users into believing it is a trustworthy entity and have users provide their credit card numbers, social security numbers, and/or passwords. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for ways to determine the appropriateness of communications within social networking services.